Function Policies and Minimums

Function Policies and Minimums

• We also offer a semi-private section in our main dining room which is perfect for groups of 30 people or less. This location does not require a room rental fee.

• 75 Person minimum for Saturday evening events during the months of June through September.  
• Saturday Event Times are 12pm to 4pm OR 6pm to 10pm. You may not start any function before 6pm however you may elect to host your event at a later hour if you have the evening time slot, as long as you do not extend past 4 hours. Regarding the daytime slot, you may start earlier than 12 noon but you absolutely must have the room vacated by 4pm. If you are having a ceremony before elect to have a ceremony at 6pm, you may extend your reception to 6:30-10:30.  Standard functions are 4 hours long. We do not offer events for longer than a 4 hour block.  

Pricing

• A room rental fee will apply depending upon the number of guests, the day and time of the event and the season. 
• All quoted menu prices are for parties of 50 or more.
• Smaller groups will be priced individually. 
• We do not offer plated meals for the 6-10pm time slot during the months of June-September due to heavy volume in the kitchen. You must select from our buffet menus for parties during that time frame. 
• We handle all room set up related to serving food and seating. Also you will be assigned a banquet captain on the day of your event who will oversee the function. The sales person is not normally in attendence at your event. 
• Clambakes and BBQ which are to be prepared outside carry a $150 set up fee. You may elect to have these menus prepared in the kitchen at no extra charge. 
• If your food-spend (per person food price multiplied by the number of people attending) is less than $1200, a staffing fee of $150 will be charged. The staffing fee is a one time charge, therefore if you are already paying for a bar set up this counts as the same fee and will only be charged once.
• We do not permit people who attend a function to go upstairs to the main bar once their function has concluded. 4 hours is the maximum length of time that we feel comfortable serving any individual in our establishment. Please make other arrangements for your guests if you are going to continue your celebration once your party at Hemisphere has ended.
• Ceremonies which take place on the beach carry a $150 fee which includes 1/2 hour beyond your 4 hour reception for the ceremony plus staffing associated with the extra time. It also includes any tables, minimal chairs (we do not recommend more than a few be set up on the beach for people who would not be comfortable standing), power outlets, etc.

Included Only In Special Celebration Package

This package comes with the Celebration Buffet Menu or you can add it to any menu for an additional $10 per person.  

• Rental of the Cape Cod Bay Room for a 4 hour block.
• Ceremony Cost  (no additional ceremony fee, $150 ala carte) 
• Champagne Toast for weddings ($5 per person ala carte)
• Coffee / Tea / Iced Tea/ Soft Drinks ($4 per person ala carte)
• Use of in-house cd sound system or bring and plug in your own MP3 player.  
• All table linens in white and are included at no cost. Additionally we provide linen napkins at each table setting. 
• Use of private third floor suite 1 hour prior to event with soft drinks and water available.
• Full use of beach for wedding ceremonies is included. Please note due to safety issues we will not set up seating on the beach beyond a few chairs for those people who would not be able to stand for a period of time. For larger weddings we recommend that guests simply gather around the couple in the sand for the ceremony. If you have individuals who cannot access the beach we will gladly seat them on the veranda and make sure they are comfortable while the ceremony takes place. The veranda is approximately 20 feet from where the ceremony is held.  

Beverage Policy 

• All alcoholic beverages are charged on consumption in accordance with MA State law.
• You may offer an open bar or cash bar, and length of these bars can vary depending upon your needs. 
• For parties of less than 50 people or if your food spend is less than $1200, a bar set up fee of $150 may apply. You only pay this fee once however, not once for the bar and again for low food spend. One charge is all that you are subject to.  
• A non-alcoholic soft drink package including soda, lemonade, milk, juice may be offered at $4.00 per person.
• We do not allow any outside alcohol to be carried onto the premises, including bottles to be used as gifts. please note that if we find your guests are carrying their own beverages to the party (including drinks in the parking lot or on the beach) we reserve the right to conclude the party immediately. Alert your guests so that the party goes smoothly and isn't concluded earlier than you anticipate.   
• We only provide beer,wine, alcohol from our restaurant inventory and we do not place any special orders for particular brands. Please be familiar with our stock before booking your event to insure that our inventory meets your needs.
• Alcoholic beverages are not allowed to be carried onto the beach or in the parking lots around the restaurant.

Children's Meals

• A child’s plate is $15.00 for chicken fingers/fries, hamburger/fries, mac and cheese, fish and chips or pasta with red sauce and unlimited soft drinks. These plates must be ordered with the main entree selections and are subject to the same deadlines for final counts and menu selection as the adult selections.

Non Quoted Fees/Additional Costs

• 20% Administrative Fee which is comprised of 18% gratuity split evenly among the serving staff an additional 2% gratuity to banquet captain. 
• Room rental fee. This number will appear in your contract.
• Ceremony fee of $150 if applicable.
• 6.25% State Meals Tax
• The non-refundable deposit required at time of booking to guarantee the room is subtracted from the final bill. This deposit is $1000 for weddings and $500 for all other events.
  
• Bar costs are separate. Hemisphere charges on consumption so your options are to run a tab for drinks consumed by guests and settle at the end of the night, or you may elect to pay for a partial tab (set a dollar limit for a hosted bar then switch to cash) or you may choose to include only certain beverages on a tab such as beer, wine, soft drinks and leave the other options available to guests on a cash basis. Alternately you may elect to have a cash bar available throughout your event in which case guests pay for each drink that they order and you are not responsible for any tab at the end of the night.  

**Please figure these amounts into your total**

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Beach Wedding Set-Up: Weddings on the beach do not include chairs. We do not recommend chairs on the beach for ceremonies because they are unsteady due to rocks embedded under the sand. However should you elect to rent them yourself you will be responsible for bringing them onsite no earlier than 1 hour prior to your event, set up and break down and taking them away after your party. Most rental companies deliver on Friday and pick up on Monday and Hemisphere does not have any storage onsite to store the chairs. This means that you must have them delivered off site and arrange for transporting them to Hemisphere yourself no earlier than 1 hour before the event and then taking them with you when your event is over. You may not have anything dropped off on our property from any outside vendor without our prior knowledge and consent. Large structures on the beach require permitting from the town. Simple arbors and archways are fine for ceremony use and do not require a permit.  

2. Live music: We do allow live music inside the function room only. We are not licensed for any outdoor entertainment. You may have a DJ set up speakers for the purpose of your ceremony only, but this must be removed after the ceremony concludes. We reserve the right to stop any live entertainment which becomes excessive or in the event that we have complaints from neighbors. Please alert your entertainment that we reserve the right to ask them to adjust volume as necessary.

3. Food: We do not allow any food or beverages to be brought onto the premises. The only exception to this rule is a wedding cake made by a licensed vendor. Leftovers are the property of Hemisphere and will not be packed for takeaway except for any cakes/cupcakes which are leftover and which you may take home.  Please note that while we post menu prices online at the start of each season, sometimes it becomes necessary to adjust pricing because of market conditions. Hemisphere reserves the right to changes prices without notice.

4. Pets: No pets are allowed in Hemisphere except in instances when medical dogs are needed for assistance. 

5. Advance Set Up: On the day of your event we will try to accommodate your set up time prior to the event. This is dependent upon the function before yours as we often do two events in one day. You may not access the function room prior to 1 hour before the event, and we do not guarantee access before or after your booked time. Inquire one week in advance to learn whether you may access the room an hour before your party for set up. If you need to store decorations, please plan to drop them off and we can hold them in the third floor offices. Label all boxes clearly with your last name. Hemisphere is not to be held responsible for any lost or stolen items. All events require the use of our tables and chairs. You may not use rental chairs or tables as we do not have any extra storage space available.

6. Guest Arrival Time:  Your guests should be invited no earlier than the contracted start time of your party. If you must have a few people in attendence early for the purpose of setting up (refer to question #5 above) please limit the number to one or two people as too many people in the room prohibit us from setting the tables, vacuuming the floors etc. After they are set up please direct them upstairs to the bar to wait for the ceremony or party to begin. Also prior to the scheduled start time of your party, please direct anyone who might arrive early to the upstairs bar and restaurant. We will plan to keep the doors closed in the function room until shortly before your event to ensure proper set up and cleanliness. If you have contracted the room to include a ceremony 30 minutes before the reception begins, please instruct your guests to wait in the upstairs bar or the outside bar until the ceremony begins.

7. Decorations: You may have candles providing the flame is entirely enclosed by glass. We don't allow decorative sand to be sprinkled around the room or the dining tables. Also we do not allow confetti. If your guests throw rice, confetti etc, you may be subject to an additional cleaning fee. Affixing anything to the walls is not permitted. If you have assigned seating for your function please submit a floor plan with the number of guests at each table no later than 1 week in advance.

8. Parking: Hemisphere provides parking for function guests in the rear of the building. Please include in your invitation that parking is on the white stone lot in the rear of the building only. 

9. Outside Clambakes and BBQ: We will try to accommodate outdoor set-ups for clambakes and BBQs if you decide to plan your event in this way. Please note that we reserve the right to move any exhibition food preparation inside if we determine it to be necessary. Factors which could prohibit outside cooking might include weather, wind, lack of adequate staff etc. If you have paid for an outside set up fee, you will be reimbursed after the party in the event that the cooking is moved inside.

10. Bonfires on the Beach: The beach falls under the jurisdiction of the Town of Sandwich which requires a permit for any fires on the beach. These permits are only granted until 10pm therefore if you decide to have a bonfire, you will need to seek proper permitting from the town. Because we cannot control alcohol consumption once you leave our jurisdiction, we must shut down the bar service and your reception once your fire starts.

11.  Music: We have a built in sound system which can accommodate your IPOD or CD's. We can also accomodate DJs or bands.   

12. Visiting the Facility:  If you need to come to the restaurant at any point up to the day of your event, please call or email us to arrange an appt. prior to coming down. Meetings to discuss the banquet facility are by appointment only. If you want to drop by to see the space during business hours you should be able to look around the Cape Cod Bay Room on your own but do not expect to speak with anyone about planning an event. Unless you have a confirmed arrangement, you cannot expect to have a meeting with anyone on staff simply by dropping by. The sales person and function coordinator work from home and usually aren't available on site to meet with you unless you have arranged in advance to meet with them.  

Click Here to contact us for calendar availability or a tour of the facility.